Gratification

Gratifying Personal Misconceptions

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For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.  2 Timothy 4:3-4 (NASB) 

          Winds of change blow through the atmosphere turning heads and tickling ears. Time-honored traditions deteriorate as people substitute personal principles for foundational beliefs. Truth is exchanged for lies. Creatures are worshipped rather than the Creator. And the world spins out of control while God waits with abundant grace for repentant hearts.

          In the beginning God spoke life and created everything good. He placed mankind in a plentiful garden to maintain and utilize, giving instructions that the fruit of only one tree was not to be consumed. But the Creator’s numerous blessings weren’t enough. Desiring more, Eve and Adam consented to a seductive voice. Temptation pricked their ears, enticed their hearts, and moved their hands and feet to act in direct contrast to God’s commands. Once they exchanged the Heavenly Father’s truth for the devil’s deceit, consequences engulfed them. Even so, God had a plan of redemption and waited with abundant grace for humanity’s repentance.

          In Jesus’ parable of the prodigal, the younger son wasn’t content living with a loving family on an enormous estate. He desired his inheritance and the pleasure it afforded. So he walked away from the fundamentals of home, choosing to satisfy his cravings. Eventually he found himself penniless, lost, and alone. At the same time, his father waited with open arms of abundant grace for his son’s return. 

          Ideologies come and go. Lifestyles are chosen. From flattery to foolery, compliments to compromise, temptations entice people. Men, women, and children satisfy itching ears by scratching them with the latest fascinations. Attractions, idolization, or devotion to anything but God strengthens as we allow what we see and hear to move us toward instant gratification. We want it, we want it our way, and we want it now. So we open ourselves up to current trends instead of standing firm on the bedrock of truth. In the mean time, God waits with abundant grace for our return.

          Led astray and away from our Creator’s absolute truth, we begin to see all things as relative to our personal perspective. In time we find ourselves drifting toward places we never thought we would go. To soothe the tension within ourselves, we seek like-minded people. God is pushed aside and we’re slowly swept away like shifting sand. For the time being, God waits with abundant grace for His creation to turn back to Him. 

          Are your ears itching? Is temptation pulling you away from the Heavenly Father’s sound commands? Turn back to God before it’s too late. You’ll find Him waiting for you with open arms full of abundant grace.